Hansi Flick has handpicked another La Masia prodigy to join Barcelona’s first-team pre-season, to nurture the club’s youth talent.
Barcelona’s La Masia academy continues to be an important source for the club’s first team, with a steady stream of talents that pave the path for the Blaugrana’s future.
With the upcoming pre-season of the 2025/26 season, manager Hansi Flick will provide an opportunity for yet another young prospect to prove himself with the first team.
With numerous first-team players expected to be away with national sides, notably during pre-season for the Asian tour of the club, Flick’s pre-season should allow further development of the selection of youth options, as per Diario Sport.
The player in question is Guille Fernandez, a 17-year-old midfielder whose talent has already led him to be regarded as one of La Masia’s stellar products.
Fernandez is in his second year as a youth player, yet has already made significant strides with Barça Atletic, although they have had a poor season.
Fernandez provided another quality of a La Masia midfielder, with his creativity and physicality, which is different from the more generalized play of a La Masia midfielder as well.
He’s recently received compliments from Flick, and he plans to integrate him for a while early into pre-season.
Flick’s faith in Fernandez fits in with his wider idea of looking to academy players, seeing as there are now two dedicated academy debutants (Marc Bernal and Toni Fernandez).
However, Fernandez will have a stiff competition ahead of him in a strong midfield line-up, and with clubs like Porto and Borussia Dortmund interested in him, this is putting pressure on him to establish himself.
However, Flick is sending signals of his faith in his ability to do so, having taken Fernandez on last year’s U.S. tour and now on the trip to Asia.
With Barcelona weighing ambition versus financial ability, what Fernandez does in pre-season could introduce him into the first team and further the legacy of La Masia.
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